Lampard against Real Madrid
Chelsea coach Frank Lampard revealed that his team can compensate for the 2-0 defeat by Real Madrid when it hosts it in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals next week, but it needs “something exceptional” to do so.
Real Madrid, the defending champions, won thanks to a brace from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio in the Spanish capital on Wednesday.
Chelsea played with ten men for more than half an hour after Ben Chilwell was sent off.
Real Madrid could have decided his qualification before the return match, but he missed many opportunities, and Lampard said that the Spanish champion may regret that.
The English coach, who returned temporarily until the end of the season after the dismissal of Graham Potter, reported to BT Sport: There are some good things, but the result is our reality.
“I told the players that something exceptional can happen at Stamford Bridge. We have a good team but we have to believe in ourselves.”
The nominations stand against Chelsea, who failed to score for the fourth consecutive match, and Lampard has only one week left to restore confidence to the strikers.
Chelsea’s all-time top scorer said: It’s a difficult period for the players, and I think we lack confidence. They have to realize they are good players and what they can do but maybe they don’t have that right now.
Chelsea made enough chances, which suggests the possibility of repeating that next week, as Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount missed several opportunities.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti indicated that his team still had a lot of work to do.
The Italian coach, who won the league and FA Cup duo with Chelsea in 2010, added: It is not easy to lead such matches, but I am very happy.
“We have to keep calm and realize we have the advantage, but in football anything can happen and we have to handle our advantage well.”
